1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to eyewear accessories and, more particularly, to eyeglass retainers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many types of eyewear, including sunglasses, safety glasses, corrective eyeglasses and the like (hereinafter collectively termed "eyeglasses"). As is well known, eyeglasses protect a wearer's eyes from environmental effects such as glare, wind and airborne particles, and/or they compensate for visual defects including, as two prevalent examples, myopia and astigmatism.
In general, eyeglasses are made of a metallic or plastic frame and a pair of glass or plastic lenses. The frame includes three significant parts: a lens piece and two temple pieces. The unitary lens piece holds or supports the lenses in a plane in front of the wearer's eyes. A curved bridge is formed into the lens piece between the frame portions that hold the lenses. The lens piece also has two sides adjacent to the lenses which are each hingeably connected to one of the temple pieces.
The eyeglasses are worn by placing the temple pieces over the ears and positioning the bridge at the top of the wearer's nose. It is well understood by eyeglass wearers that the temple pieces and bridge have a tendency to slide forward down the incline of the nose and, if not checked, the eyeglasses will completely dislodge from the wearer's head. It is thus quite annoying for a wearer to have to constantly push the frame bridge against the nose so as to prevent dislodgement of the eyeglasses. To fill this need, the eyeglass retainer was invented.
An eyeglass retainer is, in most incarnations, a linear strap which in one configuration is designed to retain eyeglasses on a wearer's head. Many eyeglass retainers allow adjustment of the eyeglasses between three nominal configurations on the wearer's body. The eyeglass retainer, or strap, is typically fabricated such that each end of the strap is secured to one of the temple pieces. In a "tight" configuration, the eyeglass retainer forms a yoke against the back of the head that can be tightened so as to maintain the eyeglasses against the wearer's face, i.e., by attaching the strap to the temple pieces at a location that is closer to the lens piece.
In a "loose" configuration, the glasses are held in place on their own, i.e., on the nose and ears, and the eyeglass retainer, still attached to the temple pieces, is allowed to drape down the nape of the wearer's neck. Lastly, in a "storage" configuration, the retainer again rests against the nape. However, in the storage configuration, the glasses are removed from the wearer's head and suspended by the retainer against the wearer's chest.
It will be appreciated by eyeglass wearers that the tight configuration is of greatest benefit when the body is undergoing jarring movements, for example, during athletic activities such as tennis, running and skiing. In such instances, if a retainer is not worn, the eyeglasses quickly loosen and need to be forced back into place. The loose and storage configurations of the eyeglass retainer are perhaps most useful when the wearer is participating in leisure activities. For example, these configurations are advantageous while driving or walking at the beach where changes in the level of outside glare cause a concomitant desire to temporarily wear or store sunglasses.
There are numerous variations of eyeglass retainers performing the same general function. Two of the more popular retainers include an open ended, flexible tube retainer and a retainer having a flat strap connected to tubular ends. The former design is shown in Winger, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,696) wherein the preferred eyeglass retainer is manufactured from a tubular elastic knit cord having ends that slide onto the temple pieces of eyeglasses. The patent to Fuller (U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,604) shows an eyeglass retainer of the latter type having tubular members connected by a flat band. The Fuller retainer is said to be preferably fabricated from a closed cell neoprene foam such as that used by the diving industry for wetsuits.
Improvements to linear strap retainers such as the ones disclosed by Winger, et al. and Fuller include the inventions described in Perry, III (U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,556) and Ahrens, et al., (U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,702). The Perry, III patent discloses a retainer wherein each end is turned into itself to form a double wall. The double-walled end is said to be an improvement over a single-walled end because it results in a greater resistance to stretching and a greater gripping force on the temple pieces.
Ahrens, et al., discloses yet another retainer invention that promotes gripping the temple piece. As presented by the inventors, the improved gripping of their retainer invention is a result of combining two materials of differing stretchability. In one embodiment, the retainer band and end tubes are formed from an elastomeric polymer such as neoprene. A retention sheet formed from a less stretchable material (preferably a nylon jersey or tricot) is bonded to the outside of each split end tube which results in a tighter fit on the temple piece than the single material alone.
Besides the aforementioned concerns about retaining eyeglasses, a participant in athletic activities is also interested in mitigating perspiration during periods of physical exertion. Of particular concern, the athletic participant usually perspires quite heavily on the top of the head underneath the hair and on the forehead, causing discomfort and obscuring vision as the sweat droplets gravitate into the participant's eyes. At present, the chief solution to forehead perspiration is to encircle the head with a headband or sweatband, which is typically manufactured from a water absorbent material such as elasticized terrycloth. However, for the athletic participant who wears eyeglasses or sunglasses and who desires maximum comfort, two devices, namely, an eyeglass retainer and a sweatband, must be worn around the head while engaging in physical activity.
A single device performing the dual function of ski goggle retainer and headband for skiers was conceived by Gross, et al., (U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,147). The Gross, et al., patent discloses a headband having receiving loops attached to opposing sides of the headband. The receiving loops engage with slots or hooks which are formed into the frames of custom ski goggles. Unfortunately, besides the obvious limitation to skiing, there are several serious drawbacks to the Gross, et al., invention that prevents widespread consumer appeal.
First, the headband of Gross, et al., requires custom framing apart from the eyeglasses/sunglasses that are normally sold in stores and used by the general public. Not only is there additional expense in making custom ski goggles or an eyeglass frame, but also such customized frames have limited utility in that they cannot be used for normal wear without the headband, e.g., when the skier is relaxing at a ski resort. Second, even if the Gross, et al., headband would allow a wearer to position the glasses on top of the head, in such a configuration the headband must remain wrapped tightly about the forehead for the slots to engage and retain the goggles. Furthermore, the storage configuration for eyeglass retainers, as previously described, allowing eyewear to be suspended from the wearer's neck and providing a greater degree of comfort, is not an option of the Gross, et al., invention.
Third, the installation and removal of the receiving loops from the slotted frames, as described by Gross, et al., appears awkward and cumbersome when compared to the simple sliding motion on the temple pieces associated with the above-mentioned eyeglass retainers having tubular ends. Lastly, the headwear construction of Gross, et al., requires the headband to be positioned around the wearer's head for glasses to be worn. This requirement lacks the flexibility to provide the loose configuration of an eyeglass retainer wherein the retainer drapes down the nape of the wearer's neck.
Consequently, a need presently exists for a dual function eyeglass retainer/sweatband, which resolves the above mentioned problems. It would be of particular benefit if such an improved eyeglass retainer could be used with standard eyeglasses, i.e., such that it fits on temple pieces. Moreover, a dual-function retainer should permit transitions between three configurations, tight, loose, and storage, so as to be useful in nearly all physical and leisure activities. Such a dual-function retainer invention should be embodied in a single device so that the wearer can participate in physical activity without worrying about dropping eyeglasses or the discomfort of forehead perspiration because one of the two necessary devices is not available.